prouided by lawe that they which were néere of kin should not be ioined in marriage but that the same lawe was afterward released vpon this occasion For a certeine man which both was honest and of good reputation among the people of Rome being verie much pressed with penurie maried a cousine germane of his which was verie rich and wealthie for which cause he was accused of incest But his cause being heard he by the iudgement of the people of Rome was absolued For fauour bare a great stroke in the citie By meanes whereof there was a lawe made by the people that from thence forward it should be lawfull for cousine germans to marrie These things I thought good to declare of this kind of marriage both out of the laws of God out of the laws of the Romans both ancient and later and also out of the fathers ecclesiasticall Canons Wherevnto I will adde that there be manie cities acknowledging the Gospell which doo not allow the marriage of brothers and sisters children namelie Zuricke Berna Basil Schaphusium Sangal Bienna c. Also in the kingdome of England where I was there this degrée was excluded from marriage So as in places where the magistrate dooth forbid these marriages the faithfull sort must forbeare them for those reasons which I haue before declared But Othniel if he were the cousine germane to Achsa he might marrie hir by the lawe of God but if he were hir vncle he might not doo it by the common lawe howbeit he married hir Wherefore one of these two things we must saie either that there was a fault in him for the fathers as we haue alreadie said were not alwaies frée from sinne or else that God by a certeine priuiledge or prerogatiue would haue these things to be doone which neuerthelesse must not be challenged for an example Neither must we forget that by a custome verie vsuall in the scriptures In the scriptures kinsmen are called brethren they which by anie meanes were ioined in bloud were called brethren Euen as Lot is called the brother of Abraham and the kinsmen of Iesu Christ the sonne of God in the euangelicall historie be called his brethren So likewise in this place it may be that Othoniel is called the brother of Caleb when he was onelie ioined vnto him by some néere kindred And this exposition the interpretors for the most part doo vse the which I would not mislike vnlesse I sawe added in the text this particle The yoonger which is not accustomed to be added but when brethren or sisters are in verie déed compared togither VVhether anie dispensation may be made in degrees of kindred prohibited by God In 2. Sam. 13 verse 6. 48 Now let vs declare whether anie dispensing may be in the degrées forbidden by the law of God For at this daie those which would be counted christians being matched in the degrées forbidden doo saie Let vs go to the Pope let vs talke with him he will dispense with vs so we reward him with monie Neither doo the common sort onelie saie this but our maisters which be the Schoole-diuines The schoolmen defend the Popes dispensations in the fourth booke of sentences the 34. distinction concerning matrimonie write that the Pope can dispense And they indeuour to prooue that this he may doo For they saie that those precepts which be in the 18. and 20. chapter of Leuiticus Leuit. 18 and 20. touching degrées forbidden partlie be morall and partlie iudiciall The morall and naturall are that the father may not marrie his daughter nor the sonne his mother Here they saie is such an indecencie as by no meanes it can be taken awaie but that it should be a perpetuall impediment For they saie that the father and the daughter the mother and hir sonne be one flesh Notwithstanding in matrimonie it behooueth that one flesh become another than it was howbeit those are not seuered But if the reason were firme Adam might not haue married Eue she was his flesh for he saith Gen. 2 23. This is now flesh of my flesh They answer that Eue was the flesh of Adam not by waie of nature but by miracle sith God so framed Adams rib as it was made a woman Howbeit when kindred is defined we haue no recourse to miracles but it is said to be a bond of those persons which be deriued from one beginning by procreation so Eue might not be called a kinswoman of Adam Wherefore they saie that in those precepts which be in Leuiticus the indecencie betwéene father and daughter mother and sonne is naturall morall and perpetuall and that the rest of the degrées doo apperteine to the iudiciall lawes Some indecencie they would haue to be there but yet not so much as hath béene alwaies forbidden Deut. 25 5. For brethren sisters did at the first time marrie one to another yea and the sister of the brother departed was married in the lawe Gen. 29. for the raising vp of séed Iacob had two sisters in wedlocke Amram had his aunt Abraham had Sara Exod. 6 20. Gen. 20 12 whom he called sister Wherefore saie they these degrées namelie the father and the daughter the mother and the sonne are after a sort perpetuallie forbidden by the lawe of nature and by the morall lawe but other persons which be forbidden by God were kept backe from marriages howbeit that was by the iudiciall lawes But those lawes endured so long as the ciuill regiment of the Iewes continued which being decaied we are not tied to those lawes anie further than the church hath allowed of them so as vnto vs they be lawes of the church and not morall lawes neither are they laid vpon vs by the lawes of God but by the lawes ecclesiasticall and positiue And whereas they make the Pope to be president ouer the whole church they saie it is in his power for certeine iust causes to release these impediments They so flatter the Pope that Caietane Secunda secundae Thomae question 154. article the ninth saith that the Pope dooth for iust causes dispense in all those degrées except for marriage betwéene the father and the daughter and betwéene the mother and hir sonne not by a common lawe alreadie ordeined but by the Popes licence This he assigneth to be the cause for that they be iudicials Experience teacheth Emanuel king of Portugall that these things haue sometimes happened Emanuel the king of Portugall married two sisters Catharine Quéene of England two brethren Catharine Queene of England Ferdinandus the king of Naples married his aunt Pope Alexander the sixt allowing the same I haue read Incestuous marriages that Martin the fift gaue licence to marrie with a naturall sister whereof manie of the Canonists saie that it is to be doubted whether it were lawfull or no. This licence is horrible Ye sée how great matters these men challenge vnto themselues I am of another mind and those
renowmed Quéene is a schoole or a certain place of warfare of the Almercifull and Almightie God where he through sundrie laboursome exercises God exerciseth the godlie with diuerse afflictions sometimes by afflictions and sometimes by diuerse perils teacheth and instructeth them that be his I suppose that of Godly men it is iudged most certaine and vndoubted Yet for all this the heauenly father doth not so deale as he hath determined that those whom he leaueth shal perpetually be troubled with afflictions and bée pressed with euerlasting griefes but sometimes helpeth to ouercome euils and at such oportunitie as he hath determined with himselfe suffereth them to escape out of the flouds and whilepittes of daungers to the intent he may declare that it is he that leadeth them to the gates of death and bringeth them backe againe 1. Sam. 2. 6. while hee taketh care that in his adopted children may shine the image whom he naturally begate vnto himselfe before all eternitie Rom. 8. 28. For the same our first begotten brother Iesus Christ dyed first before hée should be raised vp by his owne and his fathers power Therefore it behooueth that we also which are appointed to be made like his image shoulde first die before we rise againe After this sort the Israelites were in a manner deade while they were pressed vnder the most gréeuous tyrannie of Pharao in Egypt but they being deliuered by Moses and Aaron were after a sort plucked away from death Moreouer they séemed againe to haue perished in the manifold daungers and sundrie mischances of the wast wildernesse who afterward reuiued by entering into the lande of Chanaan To conclude they being ledde into captiuitie were thought vtterly consumed who neuerthelesse returning after 70. yeares florished againe and were then restored vnto life The verie which thing O most mightie Quéene Elyzabeth séeing God hath doone vnto you he hath not departed from that his olde manner of custome but hath rather confirmed the same and made it more manifest For while his workes are executed in the meaner and baser sort of men they indéed appeare the lesse But on the otherside when they be shewed in men woemen of noblest and highest estate then are they made in a manner famous in the eye of al mē Wherfore since you most noble Quéene Elizabeth are aduanced to the kingdome not in verie déede by a gentle Quéene Elyzabeth easie and pleasāt way but for certain yeares now passed you haue appeared to be scarse a foote frō death For so great déepe haue bin the daungers as the ship of your life was now welnéere loonke you are preserued by the power of God not by the helpe of man are promoted as we nowe sée to the possession of that famous kingdome Wherefore by the mercie and goodnesse of the sonne of God in whom only you did put your trust you are reuiued by the good helpe of God do inioy the kingdome of your father and grandfather and that to the safetie of the Church of Christ and to the restitution of the common weale of England falling in decay Therefore fitlie doth that saying sounde in the mouthes of all Godlie men at this time which is most ioyfully pronounced in the Psalme Psal 118. 28. This is the Lords doing and it is marueilous in our eyes The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner I confesse indéede that these wordes appertaine vnto Christ But séeing Godly men are accounted for his members I iudge they may be applied vnto them also For that the other members of the bodie are both garnished and haue profite by the ornaments and honour of the head Ephe. 5. 27. Paul the Apostle of Christ doth aboundantly testifie which in verie déede must be specially vnderstood of those members which are so eminent in the Lords bodie as it pleased God that your maiestie should at length excellently appeare among his people Now this is so great a benefite of God as it cannot be shut vp in you onely but through your own selfe is deriued vnto a great number of the faithfull For so manie as either are borne subiects in the kingdome or wish well thereunto and which séeke nothing else but the glorie of Christ all these séeme to themselues to be raised together with you from death Amongst whom because I neither am nor wil be the last euen as I perceiued my selfe by these welcome newes to be made excéeding and marueilous ioyfull so I thought it méete that first of all we should giue thanks vnto our most mighty and mercifull God secondly that we shoulde reioyce on the behalfe of your maiestie and also of the Church and Realme of England Wherfore let vs praise God and the father of our Lorde Iesu Christ which hath visited his people being almost deade and hath opened the way which a long time was shut vp from preaching of the Gospel of the sonne of God Beholde nowe againe is the horne of saluation lifted vp in the kingdome of Englande whereby the chosen of God by the inuincible power of our Sauiour Iesus Christ are deliuered out of the hand of their enemies and doe most syncerelie woorship the blessed GOD according to the prescript rule of the holie Scriptures Glorie be nowe to GOD on high Peace in the Church and the good will of God towardes the people of England that by the guide and good gouernement of this godlie Quéene her subiects being adorned with righteousnesse and holinesse may walke alwaies and innocentlie before him and that hee will so lighten them from aboue as they which through the night that went before were againe fallen into darkenesse and into the shadowe welnéere of death now the daies of peace being sprung vp may walke their waies safelie without any offence And that this may be done most mightie Quéene it is in your hand next vnto God Neither doe I doubt but for your auncient faith sake your godlinesse and fauour of God which hath protected defended and gouerned you from your childehood vnto this daie you wil giue the due honour vnto God and to his worde God kéepe from your syncere and religious heart the blemish of an vngratefull minde which though in euery sort of man it be most fowle in you which by the benefite of Christ are in this place it would be altogether intollerable Howbeit I am whollie perswaded that your Maiestie is both of a readie minde and will to restore the Euangelicall Religion And albeit that you are sufficientlie prepared and learned of your selfe this to doe and that you haue no want of the holie counsels godlie exhortations of others which daily sound in your eares Yet haue I also thought good for the verie great bounden duety that I owe vnto your Maiestie with no lesse breuitie than modestie to put you in minde of some things which principallie belong hereunto Which thinges I humblie beséeche you may bee no otherwise
béene long sicke Which if God for his goodnesse sake will graunt I shal be maruellous glad and will giue him thankes for restoring of your health Here was latelie the seruaunt of Alasco who sheweth that in Polonia the Parliament is dissolued and that the affaires of Religion is put ouer vntill September next But this moreouer hee signified vnto me which I was verie sorie for and was disquieted in my minde to heare that Blandratas the Phisition had insinuated himselfe into the friendshippe of N. N. vnder pretence of giuing him Phisicke for his olde disease Which when I hearde I feared least hee woulde deceiue that old man Not as though I thinke that the errors of the Phisitian can by anie meanes be obtruded vnto him but for that hee as he is accustomed when hée will dissemble a thing with learned men and while he with goodlie smouth wordes will pretend as though he nothing disagréeth with the right professors will cast foorth all his venime against the vnskilfuller and ruder sort of men For this as I perceiue is their manner of doing they beginne with the weake sort but vnto the learned and chiefe men they altogether dissemble themselues to be such as they are Therefore haue I directed letters vnto N. N. wherein I haue painted out the man in his colours I haue disclosed his nature and errors And nowe I thought good to aduertise you of the matter that if there be anie occasion offered you of writing letters into Polonia you omit not to write those thinges which you iudge will profite the safetie of the Church It is stedfastlie affirmed here that there is a peace made betwéene the two Kings but the conditions thereof are not yet knowen I pray God they conspire not against Christ and his Church which notwithstanding if they shall doe wee will hope well of Gods helpe for he is not deade nor yet euer will die and he hath a thousande deuises and infinite waies to deliuer them that be his I commende not him vnto you that carrieth these letters since he is well enough knowen vnto you Hee hath liued here with me these thrée monethes past and delighteth me verie much with his courteous manners doctrine and erudition He maruellouslie desireth to profit his countrie by furthering of Religion A hard matter it is especially at this time What counsell I coulde I haue giuen him which also I thinke he will in anie wise desire of you and I am sure you wil giue him that counsell which shall be full of wisedome and godlinesse Fare you wel right worthy man and reuerend brother in Christ From Zuricke the 16. of Aprill I pray you salute in my name all the fellowe Ministers To Maister Iohn Caluin IT is long agoe Reuerend Sir since I wrote vnto you truelie not because I had forgotten you or that I am nowe of an other minde towarde you than I was woont to bée but because it happeneth that whē the Cariers be here I am not at leasure and when I haue leasure I lacke a Carier But nowe that I haue aswell the one as the other I woulde not omit to write vnto you And hereof I desire you which you of your selfe haue alreadie doone and I doubt not but again wil do namely to comfort mine or rather your countie Maximinian our most déere brother in Christ in this visitation of his For as I vnderstande that by the death of his most déere wife he hath receiued a verie great wounde but yet of the Phisitian the which ought to bee no small pleasure vnto Christians For our Sauiour Christ knoweth what will further our saluation and that a great deale better than our selues can deuise Here there is nothing else doone than was doone at the first This is written for certaintie that in the Parliament are declared the disputers which shall méete together in the next moneth of August at Wormes and shall dispute together concerning Religion with the same fruite no doubt as wée maie guesse by that which is past that hath béene doone thrise before But if you aske who they be they are these Vicelius Iulius Pflug and Asotus are for the Pope And for vs are Philip Brentius and Marpachius What will you say is Saul among the Prophets The matter is come to thrée men There shoulde be néede of earnest letters from you or rather our Pauo In the meane time you and Bullinger to passe ouer my selfe as one borne before his time are accounted Samaritans and which are not accounted worthie of the aire which we breath much lesse of Christian méetinges yet neuerthelesse whether they will or no we belong to the twelue tribes of Israel although we inhabite the Region beyonde Iordane and are lesse in number than they They imagine crie out that we haue builded an Altar for the setting vp of a straunge Religion I woulde to God they did once vnderstande that wee are a great deale more carefull of pure and sincere religion than be they King Philip is passed ouer into England where hee expecteth bandes of souldiers which shoulde sayle vnto him out of Spaine and he craueth both monie and souldiers of the Quéene Gribald was here this other daie neuerthelesse hée taried but one night he talked not with me whome hee alreadie hearde to mislike verie much of his opinions But as I hearde hée saide vnto some that Vergerius should shortlie come and that the affaires in the Parliament of Polonia were not altogether ill ended Yet we doe not plainelie vnderstande howe it was whereof when I haue more certaine knowledge I will straightwaie certifie you I am desirous that your fellow ministers and the rest of the brethren but especially the Lorde Marques should be saluted from me Fare you well and loue me as you doe for euen I doe verie much honour you in the Lord. From Zuricke the 8. of Aprill 1557. To Maister Caluin WHat you did write vnto mee a fewe dayes since of the confession of Farellus and Beza seemeth to be euen as you saie to wit that all things were doone simplie and sincerelie of them Wherefore for my part I thinke well of it neither haue I perceiued anie offence in anie other thing whereby the consent and ecclesiasticall vnity shoulde be one iote diminished in anie respect And herewithall happened the edition of your booke wherein you admonishe the vntractable man Westphalus and make aunswere to the men of Magdenburgh frō whom and from Westphalus it séemes that a certaine rage and inuincible obstinacy hath now of late taken awaie their right iudgement Therein doe you so syncerelie clearely and plainelie shewe the controuersie of the Sacrament as indéede there can appeare no knot much lesse haue anie bin left in the rish And of small iudgement doubtlesse I will not saie of none at all are they to be estéemed which in that matter desire either anie further light or teacher Verilie I sée that the booke doth maruelouslie delight all men and I
me as you doe To Henrie Bullinger 26. THose things which you wrote vnto mée right woorthie Sir doe fullie testifie what minde and good will you beare mee for the which cause I giue you most heartie thankes And in the meane time I knowe not what else to aunswere but that I haue you all the Church I meane the schoole and most honorable Magistrate within my heart and bowels I continue still of one minde and wholie determine with my selfe to come vnto you neither as I thinke will my desire bée in vaine Indéede there be manie impediments so as this delay which our honorable Senate required for to deliberate of the matter is no lesse troublesome to mée than to you For manie times there come learned men vnto me such as are of some authoritie and my verie familiar and speciall friendes which indeuour all they can to stay me from departing The French church which is of our professiō are against it And there be manie in the schoole and in the Senate which trulie fauouring our doctrine say that my departure will cause great detriment but yet by the grace of God these things doe not hitherto mooue mée because I sée that the Germane Church it self is vtterly against me as touching doctrine neither doe I thinke that any reconciliation can be hoped for Howbeit because I haue bin required by my Lordes that I woulde comprehend in a certaine briefe writing my opinion of the Sacramentarie thing touching the Eucharist to the intent it might be perceiued thereby howe much the preachers of this Citie doe differ from mee I did not staie to doe it and our opinion I haue written in fewe wordes in déede but yet so cléerelie and euidently as they which vnderstande it not bée as senselesse as stones Wherefore I thinke that our aduersaries will rather depart from hence than suffer that it shoulde be taught and disputed in the Schoole or bée written of any professor of this Citie I expect what answere they will make I know they will not depart from their obstinacie I in the meane time will vse your benefite which I doubt not but is offered me by God whom beléeue mee I haue desired welnéere these thrée yéeres that either he would make this vocation tollerable vnto mée or else that he woulde prouide mee of another Nowe since he hath hearkened vnto mée and vpon the sodaine hath offered that which I desired vnlesse I would imbrace it as the common saying is with both the hands I should bée vngratefull The writing which I gaue to our noble and honorable Citie I would now sende vnto you but I haue no Copie with mee except that which is written with mine owne ordinarie hand which in no wise you can reade but as I hope I shall my selfe shewe it vnto you Those things which you admonished me of I like well and I will take as much héede as I can that I bee not deceiued In the meane time I am to thanke you in two respectes for the vocation which you haue offered mée For yée haue prepared a commodious méete and honest way for me to depart from hence and by this meanes there is giuen an occasion that I haue héere now openly and before the Magistrate twise confessed my faith and meaning as touching the Eucharist not onely by worde of mouth but also by writing which I hope by the fauour of God will not bee vnprofitable As touching D. Zanchus I beléeue that which you write that it woulde in déede be profitable for him that I shoulde tarie héere but when he shal speake with me himselfe I am perswaded that he will be content with our iust determination In the meane time fare you well and let mee not be without the voyce of your prayers Of my comming stande you in no doubt I doe all thinges and I set all thinges a worke that I may bee dismissed From Strasborough the 22. of May 1556. I praie you that you will excuse mee to our fellowe Ministers that I did not now write For by reason of the absence of Marpachius and Zanchus I am so ouercharged with businesse as I haue no leasure at all Verie heauie newes are this day written vnto vs from Anwarpe namely that Maister Cheeke an English man Schoolemaister vnto king Edward of godly memorie a man verie agréeable vnto vs in doctrine and notable for his learning and godlie life together with Maister Peter Caro are taken betwéene Anwarpe and Bruxels in a litle towne called Fulsorte There is no hope of their life And it is sayde that they shall bee sent into England to the Quéene and I feare least some grieuous example shall be shewed vppon them They be two excellent men as all the English men know Wherefore I beséeche you and your godlie Church that you will powre out for them your prayers as a swéete smelling sacrifice that either they maie be deliuered frō so present a danger or else that there may be giuē them a true and sound constancie in the confession of Christes name and his trueth Fare you well againe and loue mee as you doe To Henrie Bullinger 27. THat messenger which departed from hence eight dayes since and had letters from your sonne vnto you made me not priuie at all of his departure wherefore good Sir and reuerende brother in the Lorde you must not maruell that I wrote not vnto you for I was much desirous to haue doone it and was verie sorie that the occasion was so lost Nowe at the length haue I gotten leaue It was graunted me vppon Saint Iohns Eue. Which I beséech God maie turne to good and bee luckie and fortunate For the Magistrate differed the time euen vntill that daie He protracted the time a great while and labored much to kéepe me still and finallie confessed to my owne selfe that hee did vnwillinglie let mee goe I am preparing for the iourney and when the faire is at an ende I hope that I shall depart from hence Wherefore I will not write much because I trust to bee present with you shortlie I come with a glad minde and with all my heart and I doubt not but with a willing and readie minde I shall be receiued of you I heare that your sonne hath written vnto you touching a house which I my selfe did not aduise him to doe But nowe that he hath doone it I am glad and I giue him thankes But sée how bolde I am I assure my selfe of all thinges euen as Im like manner am readie to doe anie thing for your sake Numius maketh hast and I euen at this present time am occupied in the ordering of my bookes therefore I ende my letter I desire that all the fellow Ministers may be heartilie saluted from me and that it maie be tolde them that there is nowe nothing I more desire than by my presence to pleasure them whome I entyrelie loue and honour in Christ God kéepe you long safe amongest vs. From Strasborough the
successe to the indeuours of you your fellowes which I doubt not but wil come to passe howsoeuer they departed which would haue had vs to be condemned For by the benefite of GOD there be many wayes as Pindar saieth of well dooing But because I knowe that you haue no leasure at this time to reade long letters I will not write any more I pray you salute your sonne in lawe Peucerus a singular man for his godlinesse and learning and also that verie godly and learned man Paulus Heberus From Zurick the 20. of October 1557. God preserue you long in safetie to vs and to the Church of Christ Fare you well therefore and loue me in Christ for in him I doe make great account of you To M. Peter Alexander 33. THe letters my déere and reuerende Peter which you sent vnto mee the thirde daie of Iune I receiued the xxiiij day And I doubt not but with a good and faithfull mind you shewed me of those things which indéed happened not according to your merites and innocencie For why should not I giue credite vnto you Or why shoulde I suspect you of a lie I see no cause for you to lie Neither is there anie cause why your faith should not be most approoued vnto mee Therefore I did not onelie beléeue those thinges which you wrote vnto me but as méete it was I tooke great sorrowe thereof And where it séemes to you that I excuse the slaunderers perhappes it was for that sith I sawe not their letters and testimonies I might not easilie think the worst of such kind of men who when I did expostulate with them touching this matter aunswered that against you they wrote nothing at all which either they thought not to be true or which did excéede the boundes of Christian modestie And that of themselues they would neither haue written nor spoken any thing of you had they not béene inforced and earnestlie intreated thereunto by the Mombelgardensin Church Whē I heard these things of them I beganne thus to thinke with my selfe that perhappes the matter was shewed more bitterlie vnto you than it was writen of them Hereof it comes that I maie séeme in my letters to lessen and mitigate their doinges What shoulde I héere doe I am of such a nature that I cannot easilie giue credit to a suspicious accusation of those men whome I thinke to be honest But now because you protest with your selfe that the matter is altogether euident let them take héede what they haue doone for I haue no minde either to maintaine or excuse those thinges which haue béene ill doone either of them or of anie other But this I saie vnto you that with the good and wise men no part of your good name and credite is diminished through this trouble and mishappe which you haue sustained The Mombelgardensin Church is to be lamented which hath bin brought into these ruins gréeuous euils which you write of These thinges as they be bitter and heauie to the minds of godlie men so must we pray that at the length there maie be some end and measure of them I sawe the Apologie which you wrote vnto the Prince and it liked me verie well and I saide that me thought it woulde doe well to send it to D. Marpachius For I hope that if the Prince shall reade it he will not afterwarde suffer anie ill suspition to remaine in his minde God graunt that successe which we desire Your purpose of expecting and imbrasing an honest vocation when it is offered I verie well allowe and I doubt not but that God will quickelie sende you into his worke For he will not long suffer the guiftes wherewith hee hath adorned you to be without vse Now hearken what hath happened touching other matters The last weake in Englande were burned seuen good men which with a peaceable mind and stedfast constancie gaue testimonie of their faith The Quéene hath not yet béene deliuered of childe and as it is written shee saide shée shall not happilie bring foorth till shee haue burned euerie one of the heretikes which she hath in prison Hereby therefore you maie vnderstande that my Lorde of Canterburie is nowe in great perill It is saide that they of Wormes will graunt the French nation a Church which that same diuine your friend will erect who was sometime with Lord my of Elie departed and as I thinke is called Philip. The kingdom of Polonia hath receiued the Gospell and at Augusta as all men thinke peace shall be giuen to the Churches of the Augustane Confession which peace shall be confirmed in the Parliament by a decrée of the Emperor De Lasco is at Frankforde For he was constrained to depart frō Phrysia Iulius and his wife salute you and your good wife and so doe I likewise But I pray you take the paines to salute in my name those excellent men Viret Beza and Eustachius From Strasborough the 18. of Iune 1555. To Robert Cooch a letter yet extant of his owne hand 34. YOu will maruell and that not a little deare friende in the Lorde that I haue differred so long to write againe vnto you You must knowe that that came to passe not through any contempt of you but for that being distracted continually with great businesse I am not able to performe all things at all times as I would and as I ought Wherefore it shal be your part not to impute this delay to negligence but rather to ascribe it to those vrgent cares wherewith I am ouerpressed And againe not to dissemble with you this did somwhat hinder my desire to answere that in the question which you mooue I perceiue you sticke to those arguments wherewithall by speech you delt with me Whereupon insomuch as you finde not your selfe satisfied with that that then I answered nor my selfe coulde finde better reasons to perswade mine opinion I thought mine aunswere woulde be of small importance I answere therefore rather least I shoulde séeme to want curtesie than that I thinke you can be remooued from that conceit wherein so stifly you haue setled your minde Howbeit to your obiections I will aunswere in such order as they are propounded of you You say that Higinus the bishop of Rome did first institute the baptisme of children which how stronglie it may bee prooued I cannot finde Indéede I read that he ordained certaine things concerning the godfathers of them that were baptised but that the baptisme of children was an inuention of his I neuer founde And if you know any other decrée of his hereof I pray you vouchsafe to shewe it me The testimonie which you adde of Tertullian is not of so great moment that it shoulde much mooue vs. For as you know he fell to Montanisme and as he condemned second marriages and addicted himselfe to that damnable kinde of prophesie so refused he the soundnesse of doctrine in this point of baptisme when hee teacheth that children must be kept away from the
thinke that I will euer for this diuersitie of opinion which is not great either loue or honour you any thing lesse than I did before c. To a verie honourable Prince in England 43. FOr manie and great causes am I verie much bounde vnto your highnesse most noble Prince For I being but a poore silie man and of lowe degrée whom you saw scarcelie once in England you heare such affection towardes mee as you haue with singular courtesie and good will intertained Iulius which dealeth in my affaires and haue shewed him not small but verie great fauour in the perfourming of his businesse for the which cause I giue your Honour excéeding great thankes and besides this for that you haue sent letters vnto me letters doe I say yea rather praises and commendations both of my learning and vertues which although I doe not acknowledge to be in me yet could I not but reioice in your iudgement because I vnderstoode it to bee a most certaine testimonie of your loue and good will towardes me Neither doe I thinke my selfe to be loued of you for any other cause than for godlines and religions sake I will not rehearse the singular desire that you shewe to haue mée returne againe into England Peter Martyr called againe into England which you also affirme that the godlie and learned men doe desire together with you But how great a fauour is that that you haue put the Quéenes Maiestie in minde that there must be some consideration had of my calling and haue put mee in her Maiesties fauour Finally you haue promised to doe mee all the pleasures and commodities you can and you haue declared the causes and those verie singular of this your affection namely the loue of your Countrie and the excéeding care of setting forward the worde of God Such a Prince who can but loue Vndoubtedly if I should euer be forgetfull of this so great a good will and of so many benefites I shoulde not onely be voide of godlinesse but of humanitie Wherefore I will indeuour and that by all meanes I can that they may neuer slip out of my minde But nowe as touching my returne into England and if I am not able to answere that which I would earnestly desire I beséeche your honour that you will of your courtesie take in good part the answere which I write vnto you First I would not haue you to thinke that I desire any thing more earnestly than the sound saluation of England in the Lorde Wherefore I haue desired now also no lesse than in times past to further the commodities and building thereof and to doe that which might be as well acceptable as profitable to your kingdome and Church But at this day it standeth thus with mee that I am appointed to the Citie and Church of Tigure and therefore I am not at my owne libertie Wherefore as touching this matter I sought the iudgement and good will both of the Magistrate and of the Ministers And certainlie I founde in them a singular indeuour and readie minde to satisfie your desire For thinke not that any thing is more acceptable and deare vnto them than the trueth of the Gospell to be most largely spread But on the other side they no lesse prudently than louingly consider of the constitution of my bodie my state and age and they are somewhat afraide least I being loaden and as it were broken with age cannot abide the trauell of iourney which is somewhat long variable not euerie where easie They sée moreouer that in diuers places are like to come no small daungers Further they consider that I am called abroade to much more painefull labours than I doe here abide For which cause they easilie coniecture that I shall bee able to serue neither them nor you So as they iudge it much better that I should here tarie that by teaching writing and publishing that which I haue commented I maie to my power be a helpe vnto them to you and to others But in these two kindes of answere the first part séemes to haue a likenesse of trueth For I my selfe also doe feare that I should not be able to endure iourneies and labours But in the other I doubt that they themselues be deceiued which thinke that I by tarying and resting here can profite so manie for they make more account of my workes than they deserue Verilie for my part vnto whom the slendernesse nakednesse and simplenesse of my learning is knowen agrée vnto them to tarie for the first cause onelie For I am easilie perswaded to beléeue that by iourneying and labours I shall soone bee weakened and cast downe so as I shall bee made altogether vnprofitable Wherefore I first of all beséeche your honor secondly those godlie learned men that they will accept of my good will where they cannot because of my weaknes obtaine the thing it selfe which they wish to be doone For necessitie is a harde weapon against which to striue séemes to bee no other thing than to tempt God But this in the meane time I woulde haue you right honourable to remember that wheresoeuer I shall bee in the worlde I will alwaies thinke my selfe most bounde vnto you And on the other side I desire you that you will not onelie retaine the loue of your Countrie and the care of furthering religion but that you will indeuour euery day more and more to increase the same in your Christian heart whereby the Feathers sometime cut off from the Gospell of the sonne of God maie growe againe and so growe as it may with a fruitfull course goe through all your prouinces Cities and townes Assuredly if you shall perpetually as you haue begun be inflamed with this double care both almightie god will like of you and all discrete and godly men will honour you as a good Citizen and a profitable Prince God through Christ maintaine you long in health and felicitie Giuen at Zuricke the 22. of Iulie 1561. To Maister Iewel Bishoppe of Salisburie 44. BY the Bishoppe of London his indeuour most worthie Prelate and my verie good Lorde An Apologie of the Church of England was brought a copie of your Apologie for the Church of Englande the which had not béene séene before either of me or of our companie Doubtlesse in your last letters you rather gaue an ynkling that it shoulde come foorth than plainelie signified the same Howbeit so great was the iournei hither as it came not vnto vs before the Calendes of Iulie Hereby you may weigh in your minde howe great a losse wee often times sustaine by the distance of places Verilie the same hath not onelie satisfied by all meanes and respectes me who allowe and maruellous well like of all your doinges but it also appeared vnto Bullinger and his sonnes and sonnes in Lawe and vnto Gualter and Wolphius so wise maruellous and eloquent as they neuer cease praysing of the same neither doe they thinke that anie thing in
in the iudgement of all men But hee neuer instructed more nor was more to bee maruelled at than in publike disputations For if anie disputers were to be moderated hee shewed himselfe so equall a iudge and was mooued with those reasons onely which were of force to perswade as no man coulde euer suspect him to bee parciall he depressed not the sounde argumentes of aduersaries he winked not at the errors false argumentes of friends if they would wander out of the bounds of disputation he reuoked thē courteously to the matter propounded but if the matter proceeded to braules he quieted them by his authoritie And he so finished those incounters that alwayes at the first hee repeated the thinges that were most necessarie and then at the last pronounced of the whole cause that both trueth might haue the victorie and that thereby also might redounde to the hearers no small commoditie And if so he it came to his part to dispute he alwayes so behaued himselfe both in propounding and aunswering as there was no suspition of anie desire either of chiding or of carying away the victorie from an ouerthrowen aduersarie but his minde being free from affections hee rather taught that which was the trueth than contended with anie about wordes And therefore when oftentimes afterwarde he encountered with the stout defenders of the Popes Religion neither was hee mooued to anger at anie time by their rayling speeches neither yet by the acclamations and prayses of our side was he made anie thing the loftier by vayne glory but he perpetuallie kept one and the same modestie equalitie of mind And what perspicuitie of speaking he vsed in publike readings the same did he followe much more diligently in disputing For he iudged that a darkenesse of speech and ambiguitie of wordes is the cause of verie manie contentions And hereof doe his writinges giue a manifest testimonie For whereas he wrote manie things of the iustification of man of Gods predestination not a litle verilie he wrote most of all of the Supper of the Lorde in the explication whereof verie manie learned men vse a certaine affected obscuritie but in his writinges there is nothing read but that which is proper plaine and manifest And when Bucer whom he honoured and greatly esteemed woulde oftentimes exhort him that in the question of the Lordes supper he woulde vse some certaine obscure and doubtfull kinde of speaking which hee himselfe therefore vsed because the good man perswaded himselfe that by this meanes might be taken away the great controuersie which is about this matter and so the long desired peace to be restored to the Church at the length he gaue place to him and vsed the selfe same formes of speaking that hee did But perceyuing within a while the daunger that woulde ensue he chaunged his minde for hee sawe that they coulde not be satisfied by this meanes which affirme the grosse and carnall presence of the bodie of Christ in the supper vnlesse that also their grosse kinde of speech be receaued with a full and grosse interpretation And againe hee had tryed that the weaker brethren by this doubtfulnesse of speech were in part greatly offended and in part so intangled troubled as they scarcely knew what they were to iudge in this matter Wherfore leauing to Bucer his owne phrase of speech he folowed also in this doctrine the selfe same perspicuitie which he did in other things and yet neuerthelesse betweene them remained a firme and constant friendship for neither did Bucer disallow of Martyrs iudgement neither was Martyr ignorant of Bucers meaning although he vsed doubtful speeches so that although the maner of their teaching in this matter was diuerse yet was there a ful consent of them in al the doctrine of Religion and a perpetuall friendshippe and coniunction of life which if I woulde expresse and rehearse all the pleasures whereby they declared their mutuall loue rather wordes woulde frayle than matter Wherefore leauing these thinges I will come to priuate matters and speake of his domesticall life For at Strasborough hee first beganne to haue a house and familie And first he liued without a wife all in one house with his friendes that followed him out of Italie being content with a meane or rather a verie small stipende which neuerthelesse was afterwarde augmented For since he left his countrie and great riches and high honours for Christ his sake hee thought it woulde not become anie to bee agreeued at the increase of his stipende speciallie since he was of so spare a life that this which hee had was not onelie sufficient for himselfe but that there also remained somewhat for the helping of friendes Nowe since for diuers causes hee disallowed of single life by the counsell of his friends he betrothed himselfe to an honest and noble Virgin Catherin Dampmartin who liuing at Metes and louing true religion was sent for to Strasborough by godlie men and afterwarde was married to Martyr This woman died afterward in Englande without anie issue when shee had liued viii yeares with her husbande Vnto this woman all that knewe her gaue such prayse as is due to a good and excellent Matrone For first shee was one that feared GOD loued her husbande wise and industrious in gouerning of her domesticall affaires bountifull towardes the poore who not onelie ayded them with her substance but also with all the counsell and helpe she could Moreouer in the whole course of her life she was godlie modest and sober It is reported that the common sort in Oxford loued her not onely as a benefactor and as it were a mother of the needie but that they also woondred at her as though shee had bin indued with some diuine power because that in sicknesses and especiallie in childbirth their wiues by her counsell and helpe obtained for the most part vndoubted safetie The dead bodie of this woman Cardinall Pole commaunded to be digged vp and to be cast into a dunghill and that he might seeme to deale iustlie when he had no other thing to accuse her of he ascribed this cause to wit that she was buried hard by the bodie of S. Fridesuide and that she was the wife of an Hereticke Verilie this Cardinall which was sometime a speciall friend of Martyr after his departure out of Italie not onelie forsooke his friendship but he vtterly cast awaie the care of true Religion which for a time he had fained and became an earnest enemie and persecuter of our professors Therefore sith he could not burne Martyr himselfe as he desired and with greater pleasure would haue seene it he shewed his crueltie vpon a dead carkasse which had bin Martyrs wife But after that England vnder the most excellent Queene Elizabeth had receiued the former light of the Gospell to abolish this note of infamie the bodie by the commandement of the Bishops was againe digged out of the filth and dunghill and in a great assemblie of people was solemnlie buried
Pastour and Maister as vnlesse they might haue their wishe they shoulde of necessitie as it were languish with sorrow But Martyr although hee were most readie to serue his owne Country mē yet did he not think it meet to determine any thing of his owne mind but referred the whole matter to our Senate and to the Ministers of the Church and because they would not allowe of this calling for that in verie deede they sawe that they coulde not let Martyr depart at this time without verie great hinderance to the schoole and Church and that the brethren had in the Italian Church at Geneua many both good and learned men whome they might verie well appoint in the place of Maximilian Celsus hee himselfe also submitted his will to their will and pleasure And moreouer also when a fewe yeares afterwarde his olde friendes called him againe into England offering him large conditions adding therewithall that the Queene so shee were assured of his minde was readie to send for him by a messenger into England he againe as before committed himselfe to the iudgement of the gouernours of our Commonweale Who would not accept well of his loue towardes our Church and Commonweale of his reuerence towardes the Magistrate of his constancie in retaining of the charge which he had once vndertaken Who seeth not that he had not a minde most farre from ambition and couetousnesse since he might haue taught elsewhere with greater concourse of people with greater glorie and with a more profitable stipend With these things he was no more mooued than if they had belonged nothing at all vnto him But on the otherside howe readie he was to doe seruice to other Churches and howe litle he feared any daungers is sufficiently declared by his going into Fraunce which he tooke in hande the last yeare by the commaundement and will of our Magistrates whereof if I shall speake somewhat I beseech you continue still your good will of hearing mee and yet will I not verie long abuse your patience When at the xx day of Iulie the Bishoppes of the French Church had bin commaunded of the King to assemble at Poyssi and that a Parliament of the Princes of Fraunce was also called at the same time our men in Fraunce were in some hope that there might bee appointed some conference in matter of Religion from whence might redound great commoditie to the Church Wherefore there were appointed certaine men by the Churches which in the assemblie of all states might promote the free course of Religion and there were also chosen many Doctors which might dispute and conferre with the Aduersaries And because the singular and excellent learning of Martyr and his incomparable power of disputing was wel knowen vnto them they thought it meete that he onelie of all straungers by name shoulde bee sent for Wherefore by the Christian Churches and by those Princes which had taken vppon them their protection vnto Zuricke was sent a noble man whose name was Cl. Bradella and together with him came also the notable learned man Theodorus Beza who in all these actions had the greatest charge These men inquired howe the Senate woulde bee inclined howe the Ministers of the Church and howe Martyr himselfe if there shoulde bee any conference appointed and that hee by speciall name shoulde bee sent for by the king And when hee knewe that there was none for his part that woulde bee negligent in so godly a purpose the one returned vnto Geneua and the other tooke the right way into Fraunce Not many weekes after Beza being called vnto the conference went thither by post and Bradella returned to Zuricke bringing with him letters from the Queene Mother the King of Nauarre and from the Prince of Condie and the Admirall wherein they required of the Senate that Martyr might be sent vnto them and therewithall they sent letters patent of safe conduite that our men might see there was no perill therein Wherefore since it seemed that the matter was not to bee slacked the Senate gaue their consent to the calling and willed Martyr to prepare himselfe to the iourney At the same time by chaunce returned to the Court Mattheus Cognetius a verie excellent man the kings Embassador with the Heluetians who receiued Martyr into his traine and conducted him safe to Paris from whence he going to the Court was most courteously receiued by the brethren being saluted by the king of Nauarre and by the most noble Princes the Condie the Admirall was sent for to the Queene of Fraunce whom after he had saluted according to the accustomed reuerence and had talked as concerning his comming afterwarde he exhorted her to aduaunce the pure Religion For hee shewed her that by a godly reformation of the Church shee shoulde not onely doe good to the kingdome of Fraunce but also to all Europe because all men had cast their eyes vppon the kingdome of Fraunce He saide that great perils were at hande and appeared but yet that shee shoulde not feare them because God will bee alwayes present with those Princes which haue a care of this matter That he ayded Aza Iosaphat Ezechias and Iosias which corrected the people when they were altogether corrupted with Idolatrie That Constantius when hee had Collegues yea rather superiours with him in the Empire Dioclesian and Maximian yet durst embrace Christ That Constantine euen in the greatest daungers when hee had gotten Licinius an enemie to the Christians for his Collegue yet brought peace vnto the Church He said that if God had holpen those he woulde not bee vnlike vnto himselfe but euen the selfe same that hee hath bin before He saide moreouer that kings ought most of all to serue GOD vnto this ende that their labour may bee applyed not according to their owne will but according to his and that nowe this one thing was most of all to bee indeuoured that Religion and holy seruice might bee reduced to the first originals and that superstitions brought in might be remooued That God in deede coulde doe this without the helpe of Princes and that he sometime had so doone but yet that hee was nowe minded by an ordinarie way in this wise to make Princes glorious and therefore it was meete that they shoulde not forget that they are no lesse appointed to bee the keepers of the first table than of the seconde and so it was not lawfull for them to let slippe the care of diuine worshippe Hee added moreouer that they ought not to bee heard which affirme that this belongeth not vnto Princes since it is farre otherwise decreed in Deuteronomie and that Paule woulde haue a Magistrate to be the furtherer of good workes among which the worshipping of God is the principall The Queene testified that shee was desirous of the trueth and that therefore also shee sent for him that he might giue counsell how a concorde might bee made so as there might bee a peace made without offence of the aduersaries
GOD and that ye be of one mind with me louing and friendlie Why then should I be afraid in this learned companie of yours but friendlie graue but yet welwilling seuere but yet courteous holy but yet bounteous to exercise that office which I haue not taken vppon me but you haue called me vnto Wherefore I am not driuen from this function for happening of it vnto me vppon the sudden or vnlooked for and thinking of other matters and intending other occasions not because manie abroad take it vppon them and therefore may séeme superfluous finallie not because it is ioyned with a burden which my strength is not able to sustaine nay rather for all these causes I am much the rather incouraged the more pricked foreward and the more rauished to bend my selfe wholie vnto this labour And to doe the same besides the Argumentes nowe alleaged both the woorthinesse and profite of the thinges to be handled dooth mightilie drawe me hereunto ought earnestly also to prouoke you to be manie times present Which two thinges should be commended of me more at large if ye had not oftentimes heard them more plainlie and eloquentlie declared by good godlie men than can be set foorth and pronounced by my barren and base kinde of vtterance Yet that I faile not in my duetie in running through the chiefe pointes I will rather take a taste than séeme to haue spoken thereof And that I speake not confusedlie but in order I think it méete to beginne at the definition A definition of diuinitie Wherefore I iudge that Diuinitie is a doctrine in déede not agréeable to our mindes not by the light of nature but by the brightnesse of faith whereby is both learned and taught in the Church out of the holie scriptures a certaine assured knowledge aswell of the wisedome as of the will of God And it is found to be of that nature and propertie that like vnto gold and pretious stones the oftener they be vsed handled with the handes the more they shine by handling and considering it yéeldeth foorth more shining beames of his brightnesse and euen as a liuelie water which not onelie quencheth the thirst but also springeth vp euen vnto eternall life and as that which the more it is mooued and drawen the clearer and swéeter it is made and euen as the fire A similitude which the more it is blowen stirred the greater and more cleare flames it giueth foorth Neither are we to thinke that these similitudes are rashlie applyed to this purpose since in the holy scriptures the wordes of God and sound doctrine are woont to be compared vnto pretious stones gold and siluer and also vnto liuelie water and to burning fire and that for iust cause For euen as these among men are preferred before other thinges euen by the testimonie of Pindarus who saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 water is the best thing So the scriptures of GOD excell all mens learning and sciences Other writinges in déede doe also describe the workes of God yet such as are perceiued to indure by the continuall course of nature but those doe set foorth his maruelous actes because they excéede all the power of nature they are commonlie called miracles And they are declared least perhappes we should suspect that God in the producing and preseruing of naturall thinges had so spent all his power and might as he can doe nothing more nor make anie thing more excellent which in trueth is not so for God hath infinite power so that there is nothing in nature so firme stedfast and strong which cannot by him be turned vpside downe be directed to a contrarie purpose than it was instituted at the beginning Which bringeth no small consolation to godlie men For they being admonished by the holie scriptures vnderstand that all thinges are in the hand of their good father and that there can be no griefe or trouble brought vppon them but so much as GOD the gouernour of all thinges hath decréed to doe vnto them for their saluation Hereby are we made of a constant minde in aduersities of good courage in perils and in the crosse it selfe ioyfull of an inuincible minde and altogether vnfearefull when we must enter into conflictes for the name of Christ Hereof arose that noble spéech of Daniels fellowes Dan 3. 17. Behold the God whome we woorship is able to deliuer vs out out of the furnace of burning fire and out of thy hand O king Hereof Dauid with an inuincible minde sang Psal 27. 1. The Lord is my light and my saluation whome shall I feare The Lord is the strength of my life of whome shall I be afraid Though an host of men laid siege against me yet shall not my heart be afraid and though there rose vp warre against me yet will I put my trust in him And in an other place Psal â—3 3. If I shall walke through the vallie of the shadowe of death I will feare no euill And finallie hereuppon Paul the notable Apostle of Christ and most famous defendor and publisher of the Gospell Who saith he shall separate vs from the loue of God shall affliction penurie persecution Rom. 8. 30. hunger nakednesse perill the sword As it is written For thy sake haue we bin slaine all the day long we haue bin counted as sheepe appointed to the slaughter but in all those thinges we ouercome for his sake that loued vs. For I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor thinges present nor to come nor height nor depth nor anie other creature can separate vs from the loue of GOD which is in Christ Iesu our Lord. Verilie such thinges doe the children of GOD with true boasting pronounce being taught by the holy scriptures as they that know which haue heard and beléeue the holy scriptures that God their good father dooth gouerne direct moderate and order all thinges euerie moment at his owne pleasure and when he shall thinke good dooth manie thinges besides the course of nature taking from wild beastes their sauagenesse and crueltie naturallie bread in them from fiers the power of burning from the sunne and starres their natural light from hostes of men their strength from the windes their violence and from the sea the vehemencie of waues stormes And contrariwise by punishing the wise men with madnesse by striking a feare into the mightie by inspiring the ignorant with learning the infantes with eloquence and the weake ones with most puissant strength They which know and stedfastlie beléeue those thinges in the holy scriptures doe dwel in a house founded vppon a most strong rock which by no inundation of raine flouds stormes or tempestes of weather can be ouerthrowen TO THE MOST RENOWMED Princes Elizabeth by the grace of God Queene of England France and Ireland Grace and euerlasting happinesse from God the Father through Iesus Christ our Sauiour THat the whole worlde most